Biography
Sky Larkin emerged as a British indie rock trio in Leeds in 2005 when longtime acquaintances Katie Harkin on lead vocals and guitar and Nestor Matthews on drums recruited bassist Lindsay Wilson, who eventually left the lineup. Douglas Adams assumed the bass position in early 2007. The members devoted 2007 to completing their degrees, with Harkin in London, Adams in Scotland and Matthews remaining in Leeds. They exchanged demo recordings to sustain momentum across the distances until they reconvened in Leeds. There they entered a flourishing local scene that had already yielded Pulled Apart by Horses, Dinosaur Pile-Up and the Grammatics, and began shaping their own lo-fi indie approach shaped by American precedents.
Committed to direct engagement with listeners, the group issued cassette EPs and packaged their 2009 single “Beeline” inside an analog watch containing MP3 files while cultivating an online audience through blogs and circulating demos. These efforts secured a contract with Wichita Records and led to the 2009 debut The Golden Spike, recorded in Seattle with producer John Goodmanson of Death Cab for Cutie and Pavement renown. The band embraced the North American setting, given the geographic origins of many of their touchstones. Their off-kilter bass lines and fuzz guitars recalled the lo-fi indie manner of Pavement and Sleater-Kinney. The sessions preserved a spontaneous energy evident in Matthews’ incidental yelps captured on the drum mics and in the five snare drums he broke during tracking. Goodmanson’s minimal production let Harkin’s vocals shift dynamically on the opening track “Fossil, I” and brought forward the melodic warmth of more pop-oriented numbers such as “Beeline.”
After the debut the trio maintained a relentless touring pace that included support dates with Broken Social Scene and labelmates the Cribs, appearances that further elevated their profile through performances at the 2009 Latitude and Great Escape festivals in the U.K. The follow-up Kaleide arrived in 2010 after leaking a month before its intended release date. Again working with Goodmanson, the band expanded toward a denser, more atmospheric sound that incorporated synths and gave “Angelica Houston” a repetitive, hypnotic character. Album opener and single “Still Windmills” announced the record’s direction with a dense riff that surged into an anthemic chorus. Jack Hudson created the artwork after receiving Harkin’s lyrics on paper; the resulting multicolored kaleidoscope image complemented the album’s overall mood.
Motto, the third album, was written largely while Harkin toured extensively with Wild Beasts. Released in late 2013, it matched some of the group’s most urgent lyrics with their most vigorous musical settings.
Committed to direct engagement with listeners, the group issued cassette EPs and packaged their 2009 single “Beeline” inside an analog watch containing MP3 files while cultivating an online audience through blogs and circulating demos. These efforts secured a contract with Wichita Records and led to the 2009 debut The Golden Spike, recorded in Seattle with producer John Goodmanson of Death Cab for Cutie and Pavement renown. The band embraced the North American setting, given the geographic origins of many of their touchstones. Their off-kilter bass lines and fuzz guitars recalled the lo-fi indie manner of Pavement and Sleater-Kinney. The sessions preserved a spontaneous energy evident in Matthews’ incidental yelps captured on the drum mics and in the five snare drums he broke during tracking. Goodmanson’s minimal production let Harkin’s vocals shift dynamically on the opening track “Fossil, I” and brought forward the melodic warmth of more pop-oriented numbers such as “Beeline.”
After the debut the trio maintained a relentless touring pace that included support dates with Broken Social Scene and labelmates the Cribs, appearances that further elevated their profile through performances at the 2009 Latitude and Great Escape festivals in the U.K. The follow-up Kaleide arrived in 2010 after leaking a month before its intended release date. Again working with Goodmanson, the band expanded toward a denser, more atmospheric sound that incorporated synths and gave “Angelica Houston” a repetitive, hypnotic character. Album opener and single “Still Windmills” announced the record’s direction with a dense riff that surged into an anthemic chorus. Jack Hudson created the artwork after receiving Harkin’s lyrics on paper; the resulting multicolored kaleidoscope image complemented the album’s overall mood.
Motto, the third album, was written largely while Harkin toured extensively with Wild Beasts. Released in late 2013, it matched some of the group’s most urgent lyrics with their most vigorous musical settings.
Albums
Singles
